Miguel Iglesias

Invitado de Honor

Miguel Iglesias is a computer scientist and owner of the bookstore "Letras a la Taza," located in Navarra, which he opened in 2014. With a strong commitment to promoting reading, he has dedicated his career to fostering a love for books in his community and beyond. His dedication to the sector has led him to serve as president of the Confederación Española de Gremios y Asociaciones de Libreros (CEGAL), where he works to support and strengthen the role of bookstores in society.

He is an active member of the groups Kirico, Zona Cómic, and Todos tus libros, all of which focus on promoting reading among children and youth. Through these initiatives, he has developed and implemented various programs and activities aimed at instilling the reading habit in younger generations, ensuring that they discover the benefits of reading.

Currently, Miguel continues to work on making "Letras a la Taza" a gathering place for book lovers in Navarra and remains at the forefront of national efforts to promote reading across all age groups.

Other activities involving the participant:

Panel 2: One for All and All for One? New and Old Associative Models

Gema Sirvent

Invitado de Honor

Based in Andalusia, is a writer and editor of children's and popular non-fiction books. She holds a degree in Translation and Interpretation from the Universidad de Alicante and a Master's in Visual Techniques and Audiovisual Language from the same university. In 2013, she founded the Libre Albedrío firm, an independent publishing house specializing in picture books and illustrated literature for children and young adults.

As an author, she has published picture books and popular science books for children and young adults. She collaborates with radio programs on children's literature: “Con letra grande” in the podcast of Radio Nacional de España (RNE) with the section “Asteroide B612,” where she reviews science books, and on Candil Radio with weekly book reviews. She collaborates with universities and schools in Spain and Latin America, giving talks on illustrated books and visual language. She also develops workshops and reading promotion programs for picture books in the classroom aimed at mediators. Together with 22 other publishers, she is part of the ¡Âlbum! association, which is responsible for raising social awareness of picture books and promoting reading throughout the country. She is also part of the working group of OEPLI-IBBY Spain (Spanish Organization for Children's and Young People's Books).

Arianna Squilloni

(Milan, 1976) studied Latin and Greek Philology, and wrote her thesis on philosophical logic. After her university studies, she specialized in publishing and publishing management. Since 2002, she has lived in Barcelona, Spain, where she worked at Thule Ediciones from 2003 to 2007, promoting the Trampantojo collection of books. In 2008, she gave life to her personal project by opening the A buen paso publishing house, specializing in illustrated books for children.

She regularly participates in seminars and debates, lecturing on courses and university master's degrees (2009, Universidad de Zaragoza; 2024, EINA, Illustration of fiction for children's and young adult publications; 2024, Catholic University of Milan, Italy; Máster Children’s Books & Co.; 2004, Parix, Creation and management of an illustrated album publishing house or collection, together with Gema Sivent; occasional talks and conferences on the album book at the universities of Granada, Almería, Spain, and in Chile and Colombia; 2021, TED Talk, at TEDX Málaga, Spain). In 2017, she was a member of the jury of the exhibition of illustrators at the Bologna Children's and Young Adult Book Fair.

In 2017, she received the 23rd Fernando Lara Memorial Award from the Chamber of the Book of Catalonia for the best young entrepreneur. Her publications include album books, but also autobiographical novels, essays and popular works.

Lluís Zendrera

Invitado de Honor

Born in Barcelona. He went to high school at the Liceo Francés and went on to major in Economics at Bellaterra and then in Law at the Universidad de Barcelona.

In 1985, he went into the family business, Juventud publishing house, founded in 1923. His passion for books led him to get increasingly involved. After a two-year stay in Colombia, he began building remarkable relationships with Latin America and created a personal and institutional network to promote reading, meeting altruistic individuals with whom he continues to collaborate, such as Irene Vasco, M.ª Elvira Charria, and Olga Cuevas. His aim was to have Spain contribute to the Latin American market and promote reading in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador and the United States. This goal is now more alive than ever.

He was responsible for the committee on children's literature in the publisher's build many years ago, and four years ago he took over the Catalan section of the Spanish Organization for Children's and Young Adults Books (OEPI) and, three years ago, the presidency of IBBY España (OEPI). He is currently a member of the IBBY Executive Committee and the coordinator of IBBY Latin America and the Caribbean, a member of the IBBY Prize Jury for the Promotion of Reading, and IBBY liaison for the Regional Center for the Promotion of Books in Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLALC).

Other activities involving the participant:

The prescribers